On Tuesday, the Village of Essex Junction Board of Trustees will consider proposed changes to its land development code that would make it more difficult to open massage parlors that allow criminal activities on their premises. The measure, introduced by village trustee Elaine Sopchak, comes in response to revelations last... Continue reading

“I bought a fuckin' case of bagels, didn’t even get laid. I ain’t worried about the four dollars.” — Two men smoking cigarettes “I woke up with no clothes on and a wine bottle between my fuckin' legs.” — Two men One intrepid Burlington resident has been compiling random heard-on-the-street... Continue reading

Each weekday, Seven Days scans the news across the Vermont media landscape to find the smartest, best and most compelling stories. We bundle them up in an email and send them out to our subscribers early each afternoon. It's called the Daily 7. So which Vermont news stories are you... Continue reading

Some office lunchtime smells can be gnarly — leftover shrimp scampi, for instance — while others are contagious. Barbecued meat, fries and curries all fall into this latter category. One whiff can alter your own lunch plans. Earlier today, when the spicy aromas from a coworker's chicken tikka masala wafted... Continue reading

Shumlin and Health Commissioner Harry Chen spoke at a Burlington press conference Friday Gov. Peter Shumlin said Friday that while in Las Vegas this week, he "made a couple of fundraising visits" to potential donors to the Democratic Governors Association. But he would not say whether he raised any gold... Continue reading

Updated below with comment from Department of Vermont Health Access Commissioner Mark Larson, who says the Newsweek story is inaccurate and "inflammatory." How bungled was the rollout of Vermont Health Connect, the state's trouble-plagued health insurance exchange? In a word, argues veteran reporter and New York Times alum Lynnley Browning,... Continue reading

This week in movies you missed: We reach the end of this year's Oscar-nominated documentaries. Those are The Act of Killing, The Square, Cutie and the Boxer, 20 Feet From Stardom (which doesn't qualify as an MYM) and now this documentary about covert U.S. counterterrorism efforts from director Richard Rowley... Continue reading

It was only a drill. Five Vermont state troopers were moving through Burlington Town Center on Thursday evening, when suddenly, they came under fire. Four journalists had infiltrated the deserted mall and wouldn't stop shooting at them. Click. Click. Click. Undettered by the paparazzi's cameras, the troopers went on with... Continue reading

Last December we reported in Seven Days that Liza Cowan and Jodi Harrington had launched Winooski Circle Arts, featuring artworks and gift items by local artists, at a sunny venue on the Winooski traffic circle. In January, Cowan told us the landlord was not renewing their lease and they would... Continue reading

It's no secret that food sells, especially when it comes to magazines. Yet the striking blueberry pie that appears on the cover of Vermont Law School's Loquitur — as well as the picture of dean Marc Mihaly sautéeing a veggie omelette — promise something different than recipes within. The entire... Continue reading

2012 File Photo: Rick Norcross by Matthew Thorsen Burlington Western swing songwriter Rick Norcross is capping 50 years in the music biz in style. Yesterday, he announced that his band, Rick & the All Star Ramblers, have been named as finalists for the "Best Western Swing Duo or Group" award... Continue reading

Who donated the most money to State Treasurer Beth Pearce's first bid for public office in 2012? Which Vermont politicians took campaign cash from tobacco giant Philip Morris during the last election cycle? How much money did renewable energy entrepreneur David Blittersdorf pump into Vermont politics in 2012? Before this... Continue reading

Dondre Chisom turned state's witness last year and testified for Vermont prosecutors against a friend from New York City with whom he had sold heroin and cocaine in Barre. As part of the arrangement, Chisom saw his potential 60-month prison sentence cut in half. But that assistance, Chisom later told... Continue reading

Find these news and politics stories in this week's Seven Days... In Burlington, one resident has kept up her fight against a neighbor's backyard guitar-building shop for a year and a half. The case could reach the Vermont Supreme Court. The Department of Homeland Security has dropped plans to run... Continue reading

Shannon McNally On her latest record, Small Town Talk, songwriter Shannon McNally pays tribute to her friend and overlooked American songwriter, Bobby Charles. Charles, who passed away in 2010, was dubbed the "King of Swamp Pop" for penning seminal early rock-and-roll cuts such as "See You Later, Alligator" and "Walking... Continue reading

As some farmers push for more freedom to sell raw milk, an advocacy group reports that nearly 2,000 customers bought more than 53,000 gallons of the unpasteurized product in a recent 12-month period. For those of you interested in following the raw milk debate, head over to the website of... Continue reading

Photo via Wikimedia Commons. There is something terrifically satisfying about watching a careful array of dominoes collapse. Maybe it's the pleasing clickety-click, or the careful design, or (my candidate) the ephemerality of the whole thing. It takes hours, maybe days, to set up one of those complicated, thousands-of-dominoes arrays, and... Continue reading

1696 Williston Road, South Burlington, 652-1155 This weekend, I fell in love. Diner love, one of the most important kinds in my line of work, right up there with eros, agape and sushi. Coming from the New York City suburbs, where diner food is a proud regional tradition, I have... Continue reading

The administration of Mayor Miro Weinberger appears to have negotiated a good deal for the city in the proposed $10.5 million settlement of Citibank's $33.5 million lawsuit over troubles at Burlington Telecom. While the settlement would pay off the city-owned utility's debt to Citibank, it does not immediately reimburse taxpayers... Continue reading

Teenage suicide. Don't do it. One career ago, I was a professor of film studies. I gave that up to move to Vermont and write for Seven Days, but movies will always be my first love. In this feature, published occasionally here on Live Culture, I'll write about the films... Continue reading

When he learned he's to be the next cartoonist laureate of Vermont, Brookfield resident and longtime New Yorker cartoonist Ed Koren said, he was "touched and bemused by it all." It's a typically low-key, self-deprecating response from the guy who has drawn more than a thousand wryly witty cartoons. Featuring... Continue reading

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) ramped up his political fundraising last year as he hinted at a possible 2016 run for president, according to new documents filed late last week. In the second half of 2013, Sanders raised nearly $327,000 for Progressive Voters of America, a "leadership political action committee" he... Continue reading

Peter Garang Deng, a former “Lost Boy” from South Sudan, was poised to become the first refugee to seek elected office in Vermont. But the city clerk last week barred Deng from running for a seat on the Burlington school board because he failed to submit the required number of... Continue reading

Yo, I just got told by some 15-year-old that she’ll cut me if I touch her boyfriend again. — Two young men It’s a great day to commit adultery. — Two men One intrepid Burlington resident has been compiling random heard-on-the-street comments in a tumblr blog aptly called Overheard on... Continue reading